But for Ronnie Sims and the rest of his band it was only a warm-up.

For on Saturday Ronnie, from Hayling Island and his London-based pals in the Steve Boyce Band will open for the legendary Eric Clapton at the Hard Rock Calling festival in Hyde Park after winning a national radio competition.

The 51-year-old said it was the perfect preparation for the daunting task of playing in front of 40,000 people.

Mr Sims, 51, of Palmerston Road, said: 'It was absolutely unbelievable. Getting up on the stage brought back so many memories for us – it was unreal.

'We still had so much energy and we really rocked.

'After we won we had just three weeks to rehearse and we got up there and it all fell into place. It was a night I will never forget.'

The chance to play with Clapton came about after the group, which originally formed back in 1977, entered Virgin Radio's One Last Dream competition.

It was open to bands which had nearly made it when they were younger and wanted just one last chance at hitting the big time.

They were voted the best by listeners, picking up a massive 55 per cent of the vote and have now been given the chance to relive their youth all over again.

The band played nine of their old songs at the Hard Rock Cafe. Ronnie added: 'The crowd absolutely loved it and now we will see what the future holds for us.'